THE NANJINGER | VOLUME 12 ISSUE 08 | JUNE 2022
Editorial
Talk Talk
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deranged. We therefore begin this month with a question; why is the telephone code for Nanjing “025”?
Back then, when I first came to China, I had a local colleague who took a fancy to saying, “You are so very interesting”, whenever he witnessed any of my eccentric “foreignness”. In reality, what he meant was, “I think you’re an utter lunatic”.
And where does the expression “马上” (very soon) come from? Well, it actually derives from the ancient saying, "倚马可待", as a reference to a timeframe so short that you only need “lean on the horse”, and hey presto, it would be here!
here was a well-known phrase banded around in business circles by those wishing to impart their supposed great wisdom into the ears of would-be investors in the Middle Kingdom around 20 years ago. It went, “In China, ‘yes’ means ‘maybe’ and ‘maybe’ means ‘no’”.
Here in Nanjing, people are fond of using the expression “25” (二五) to refer to someone who’s done something stupid, idiotic or
Alert readers will have noticed that a new piece of lexicon has entered the Chinese language. Who has not heard these words of late; “今天核算” (have a NAT today)?
Welcome to “Vernacular” from The Nanjinger.
Ed.
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can the QR Code to visit The Nanjinger on WeChat, from where you can download a free PDF of this issue, find a full list of distribution points for hard copies or arrange a subscription to have The Nanjinger delivered to your home or office! This magazine is part of a family of English publications that together reach a large proportion of the foreign population living in Nanjing, along with a good dash of locals, comprising: The Nanjinger City Guide www.thenanjinger.com Facebook, WeChat, Twitter & Instagram
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